Gastronomy
A generous dinner in Wrocław was provided at the restaurant Karczma Lwowska, and served as the first acquaintance for most with Polish traditional cuisine and gastronomy. Starters included homemade pate with blackcurrant sauce, roast pork stuffed with plums and herring in pepper with marinated onion. Main dishes comprised Hunter’s shashlik, chicken rolls, traditional Lvov roast pork, traditional pork cutlet “schabowy”, traditional cabbage parcels “gołąbki” and old Polish Bigos. All complemented with side dishes such as “Pierogi” (Polish stuffed ravioli), pan-fried potatoes with spices, stewed cabbage in cream and Leopolitan fried red beetroots.
Tourism
The Market Square (Rynek), surrounded by tenement houses, is the second biggest market square in Poland (after Kraków) and definitely one of the most beautiful ones in Europe. The Old Town Hall of Wrocław, built in the 13th century (Gothic style), is the real gem of Market Square and houses the Museum of Bourgeois Art. Despite of the fact that Market Square did not suffer much damage during the Second World War, most of the buildings (Renaissance, Baroque, Secession and modern architectural styles) were restored.
Cathedral Island is the site of the city’s oldest settlement. Though the river’s flow has changed since Cathedral Island got its name, it still sits by the river’s edge. Cathedral Island is home to several churches and religious institutions including the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross, and the Archbishop’s Palace.
While on Cathedral Island, one can visit the Botanical Garden of the University of Wrocław; a little bit hidden from view and more easy to miss with the churches dominating the cityscape. Wrocław has a charming University Quarter, which is located on the north end of the Old Town. Within the Quarter, you’ll find the University of Wrocław, whose claim to fame is Aula Leopoldina, a ceremonial hall in Baroque style with pastel ceilings and hand-carved cherubs.
Having climbed the hundreds of steps of an endless staircase, the Penitent Bridge, a suspension bridge between the two steeples of a church, offers a picturesque point of view of Wrocław. As per legends the footbridge would teem with tormented souls of women who chose a life of coquetry and idleness over fulfilling their duties of housekeeping, childcare, and obedience to their husbands.
A river cruise down the Oder, is another but super relaxed way to see the city from a different vantage point.
Little statues of dwarves are scattered across the city (over 300). The idea behind the dwarves is to commemorate Orange Alternative, a Polish anti-communist underground movement which started in Wrocław and used the dwarf as its symbol. In 2001, a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first dwarf went up on Świdnicka Street, then another in 2003, and then a few more were commissioned in 2005. If you’re up for a scavenger hunt, a digital gnome map will help to find as many as possible.
Alternatively, some musicians preferred to visit the Auschwitz camp near Oświęcim, the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers, where over 1.1 million men, women and children lost their lives. An in-depth confrontation of the history of Nazi Germany and the remains of Auschwitz can only contribute to understanding postwar Europe and the modern world better.
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Let’s educate and recharge ourselves while simultaneously enjoying cultural history, architecture, dining, European weather and friendship before heading into the final concert of the European tour in 2022!
Story by: Hannelore Vermeir, Principal Clarinet, Thailand Phil
